PHRASAL VERBS CONNECTED WITH ‘TAKE’

PHRASAL VERBS CONNECTED WITH ‘TAKE’

How many times have you uttered the word ‘take’, and how many times have you taken something (s) from one place to another?  ‘Many, many times’ you would say.  Yes, ‘take’ is an action that is performed several times by every healthy person each day.  It is no wonder then, that many phrasal verbs surround it.

          Let us now discuss some of the phrasal verbs that are hinged on ‘take’, in this article.

(1)     Take (somebody) aback.

Meaning:

To surprise or shock someone/people so much that they do not know how to behave for a short time.

Examples:

(i)              Many PDP faithfuls across Nigeria were taken aback over the results of the 2019 presidential election.

(ii)             Some big-time investors have been taken aback by the recent fall in the price of crude oil.

(iii)           The craze for quick riches among youths these days, is taking many older folks aback.

(2)           Take after (somebody).

Meaning:

To be like or similar to an older member of your family in appearance or character.

Examples:

(i)                Junior took after his grand-father, Ibabarode.

(ii)             Did any of late Dr. Nnamdi Azikwe’s children take after him?

(iii)           Progeny usually take after their parents in one way or the other.

(3)           Take against (somebody).

Meaning:

To begin to dislike or lose love for someone.

Examples:

(i)                Roseline has recently taken against Helen upon learning that she (Helen) has gotten a fiancé.

(ii)             Okotie suddenly took against his friend, Okafor, because of their different political leanings.

(iii)           Colleagues working in the same office should not allow external influences to prod them into taking against one another.

(4)           Take (somebody) back.

Meaning:

i.                   To allow a partner who previously left your home because of a disagreement or another relationship, to come back to live with you.  

ii.                 For something or somebody to make one remember a period or an event in the past.

Examples:

(i)                Emomine finally decided to take back his estranged wife because of the children they have together.

(ii)             Why did late Dr. Nelson Mandela vehemently refuse to take back his first wife, Winnie?

(iii)           Some boys, who were dressed with Khaki shorts and ties, last week, took me back to the colonial days.

(iv)           Does the present fuel scarcity crises take you to the dark days of Abacha military regime?

(5)           Take (something) down.

Meaning:

i.                 To remove something that is on a wall or something that is temporary, or to remove a structure by separating its different parts. 

ii.              To write something that another person has just said or is saying.

Examples:

(i)                In uncontrolled anger, Mrs. Onojakperoro took down their framed, wedding photograph.

(ii)             Is it not time to take down the various posters and bill-boards used for the 2015 general election campaigns?

(iii)           The secretary took down the dictation of her boss in shorthand.

(iv)           The students quickly took down notes as the professor was lecturing.

(6)           Take (something) in.

Meaning:

i.                   To understand completely the meaning or importance of something. 

ii.                 To include something.

iii.              To make a piece of clothing narrower, by changing the position of some of the stitches joining it together.

iv.              For the police to take someone to the police station.

Examples:

(i)                The land purchaser read the deed several times in order to take it in.

(ii)             The literature students were asked to read Shakespeare’s ‘Julius Caesar’ over and over again, to it in.

(iii)           The expanding Abraka P.O. Town has taken in part of Ajalomi Community.

(iv)           Kindly take in my food flask as you are arranging the luggage.

(v)             I have asked my tailor to take in my blue pair of trousers at the waist line.

(vi)           Some men of the State Anti-Robbery Squad took in three armed robbery suspects at Asaba this morning.

(7)           Take (something) off.

Meaning:

i.                   To remove something.

ii.              To spend time away from your work.

Examples:

i.                   John perspired so much after hopping, that he had to take off his shirt.

ii.                 The students took off their clothes before plunging into the river to swim.

iii.              Pharmacists and patent medicine dealers are required to always take expired drugs off their shelves.

iv.              Rita, the Senior Nursing Officer, has gone on three days off duty after working for four nights consecutively.

v.                 Mr. Brown has requested for one-week off duty to enable him prepare for the burial of his late father.

(8)           Take (somebody) out of himself/herself.

Meaning:

To change someone or some persons' mood and stop them from thinking about what was making them unhappy.

Examples:

i.                   The overseer took the bereaved wife and children out of themselves when he visited to hearten them.

ii.                 The displaced couple was taken out of themselves when a kind neighbour accommodated them.

iii.              With a good meal, a hungry person can be easily taken out of himself/herself.